Postmodernism of Judas and The Da Vinci Code

Boswell, Marshall. "postmodernism." In Boswell, Marshall, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Contemporary World, 1946 to the Present, vol. 4, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1999&SingleRecord=True. May 24, 2011.

Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. Leicester: Thorpe, 2003. Print.

"Dan Brown - Biography - Life Story." Age of the Sage - Transmitting the Wisdoms of the Ages. Age of the Sage. Web. 24 May 2011. .

Germanotta, Stefani. "Judas." Born This Way. Lady Gaga. ATV Music, 2011. MP3.

"Lady Gaga : Biography." Gaga. Universal Music Australia. Web. 24 May 2011. .

Werlock, Abby H. P. "postmodernism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0563&SingleRecord=True. May 22, 2011.

Journal 44 Postmodernism in Inception

A lot of the characteristics of Postmodernism can be seen in the recent movie staring Leonardo Dicaprio and Ellen Page Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan. Postmodernist tend to rely on opinions rather than facts and scientific ideas. This is obvious with this movie as it is about being able to access the dreams of different people to steal or implant ideas. The entire movie is about being able to put an idea into the mind of a powerful man. Most people don't believe that it is possible, but Cobb believes it to be possible even though scientifically it shouldn't be. Another concept of Postmodernism is that morality is personal and defined differently from person to person. Technically, all of the members of Cobb's team are criminals as they are stealing but to them, it isn't really anything bad. Their concept of morality is much different than those that would say that it is unethical to access the mind of another human being through their dreams. In Postmodernism, it is said that reality is created by those in power which could be very true for this story. It is never really said if everyone in the world was aware of the technology that they used, but if they weren't, then the government could have been creating reality. Ethically, maybe everyone should have access to the technology they use for different purposes, but the government could have regulated that so it was only criminals that were actually using it. The characters of the story are actually avoiding falling into a false reality, but eventually no one can really tell if they have gotten stuck in a false reality or not. Overall there are a lot of characteristics of Postmodernism that can be seen in the film Inception. It is just a great movie with great acting and a great story, but there are some things to be learned about literature from this great movie. Inception is an awesome movie.

Modernism Project

Anderson, George Parker. "modernism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds.Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1234&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 17, 2011).

Faulkner, William. "William Faulkner "A Rose for Emily"" LitWeb. W.W. Norton and Company, 2005. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.
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Gaydosik, Victoria. "modernism." Facts On File Companion to the British Novel: 20th Century, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= GCBNII371&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 17, 2011).

Howe, Irving. William Faulkner: A Critical Study. (New York: Vintage Books, 1962): p. 265. Quoted as "The Limitations of 'A Rose for Emily'" in Harold Bloom, ed. William Faulkner, Bloom's Major Short Story Writers. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1998. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMSSWF09&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 25, 2011).

Kurtz, Elizabeth Carney. "Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily.'" The Explicator 44, no. 2 (Winter 1986): p. 40. Quoted as "'A Rose for Emily'" in Harold Bloom, ed. William Faulkner, Bloom's Major Short Story Writers. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1998. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMSSWF13&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 25, 2011).

Werlock, Abby H. P. "modernism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS589&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 17, 2011).

"William Faulkner - Biography". Nobelprize.org. 26 Apr 2011 http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-bio.html

John Coltrane's Blue Train

Well when I hear this song the imagery that I being to visualize is that of a band playing the song in a low lit bar. This is all that I can imagine happening during this song. Just kidding. But in all seriousness I do see a lot more to this song. At the beginning of the song I picture a man walking down a street. I would imagine that it is somewhere in the south like in Georgia or Alabama or somewhere like that. He is walking down a very hoppin part of town and there are people all over the place. As he is walking he can hear the jazz music being played at all of the different bars and restaurants. He finds a bar that he wants to go into and he does just that. He sits down at the bar and orders a drink. Then a lovely lady comes over and asks him to dance. He agrees and as the music picks up you can tell that they are on the dance floor. They both are enjoying the dance very much, but another man cuts in and kind of steals her away from him. He returns to the bar and watched the two dancing, never leaving the gaze of the woman that he has just lost. When the music slows down, she comes over to the bar to talk with the man. They begin talking and move over to a booth and order some drinks. As the music speeds up again, this is like their hearts beating because they are kind of nervous around each other. They have really seemed to hit it off and they finish their drinks. As the song ends it goes back to the same very smooth introduction that was used and I picture them walking out of the bar together at dawn towards the sunrise. That is the image that I saw when listening to John Coltrane's Blue Train.

Modernism and Realism

Realism and Modernism are both very important literary genres from our country. There was a lot that happened historically to spark the change to each genre. There are many differences, but also similarities in these two literary genres. A theme relating to the wars of the time is a common characteristic while the actual style in which they are written differ greatly.

Realism was a very different style of literature from its predecessor of Romanticism. For the first time authors were depicting a setting and the story as how it would be in the real world, rather than what they wanted it to be. This was caused by the increase in scientific and rationalist thoughts after the Civil War. The style became less about an artistic style and shifted more to a more simple telling of the story. The middle class hero became the main protagonist for most works of Realism.

Historically there were many events that caused the shift to Modernism. There was the Great Depression, the Roaring Twenties, The Great War, and many other changes in culture. Black culture was also on the rise with new African Amercian artists and musicians surfacing in the popular culture of the nation. This is what is commonly refereed to as the Harlem Renaissance. It was these cultural changes that caused the change to modernist literature from the previous realism.

One major difference in the literary genres is the actual style in which the stories and poems are written in. Oftentimes there is a connection to the characters in a modernist work and the author that wrote it. The writing style is obviously different, because Modernist writers wanted to avoid the simple and rather use very deep words with significant meanings.

One characteristic that the two genres share is the depressing nature of some of the works. This comes from the time period that each genre occurred during. Realism began shortly after the Civil War, and the war was a topic of many works. There was a lot of reflection on what the soldiers went through, and also about the feelings of a country that had been divided. Modernism on the other had began during the Great War. This was a very depressing time, as people had never really seen such a war before. There was a lot of violence and this caused there to be the same depressing theme appear in some works of Modernism. This is not to say that all modernist works were like this because with the great cultural expansion of the country, there were more happy topics to write about.

Both of these genres are similar and different in many ways. What was going on during the time that they started had a drastic impact on the principals of each respective genre. The common factor of a war going on makes some characteristics of the genres very similar, but the writing style still remains very differed from each literary group. These are obviously two of the most important and influential genres in American literature.

Job Shadowing Experience

I did learn a lot from my experience job shadowing at CMT. I wouldn't say that I enjoyed it very much, but still it was a good opportunity. Everyone was talking about basically the same thing over and over again. They might not have known that, but it still got kind of annoying. They were working on a big project of turning a cloverleaf intersection into what is known as a single point intersection. When I saw the plan I thought it was kind of dumb because all of the traffic had to go through one intersection. But hey, what do I know, I'm no engineer, just a concerned motorist. The one really cool thing was that we were able to view pictures of the new Scheel's store. The guy that showed them to us was pretty laid back and seemed to be the coolest of all of the people. We also got to see so pictures and designs of the new waste management center off of Veterans. Lunch was pretty cool because we went to Lime Street Cafe. I have always liked that restaurant so I enjoyed lunch there. It was interesting because the main person we were shadowing said his boss's daughter went to Butler where is where my brother goes. I don't think that I really want to be a civil engineer. I knew this before the shadowing, but still this was kind of a bad day. I'm not saying that I am turned off to engineering as a whole, but there is no way that I ever want to be a civil engineer. The end.

Journal 42 Whitman is my boy.

Once again, Walt Whitman is my boy. I don't even know who would want to read that poetry of Emily Dickinson. I mean really, that girl was crazy. Who's poetry do I want to read... the lady who is reclusive and won't talk to anyone or the guy who's poetry actually has somewhat of a deeper meaning. I either can read about a chick who lost love and felt that society banished her for understanding that there was something wrong with it or about God and his significance in the world. I am not saying that I enjoy being preached to about religion, by no means do I, but I don't mind hearing about it when someone can make the beautiful comparisons that Walt Whitman does. I am not overly religious, but when someone is truly passionate about their beliefs, its not so bad. Also when they can present a new idea about religions that has some philosophical meaning to it, it is even better. The guy came up with a way to say that everyone is God because collectively, humanity is God, so if you break of a part of a whole the part still holds the same characteristics. This means that we are all God. I love when there is a theory like this that can just absolutely blow my mind. Of course no crazy lady that lives by herself could come up with such a brilliant idea such at that. She was too busy being crazy. Although she actually did have some poetic devices and style, the content is more important to me. Overall, Walt Whitman is just a champ and Emily Dickinson is some old crazy lady. If I had to read one of their poetry during the time that they wrote it, I think that the choice is obvious to pick my boy Whitman. Well actually, I'd rather not read poetry at all (or for that matter, read in general), but if I'm going to be reading some, it would be Walt Whitman all day.

I'm nobody! Who are you?" Analysis

“I’m nobody! Who are you?” is one of Emily Dickinson’s most important works from her poetry career. This poem addresses the idea of being accepted in society, or as some critics see it, a coming of age and transformation into the adult world. The speaker is seen as an outcast almost calling out the society that they are in. The aspect of Dickinson’s reclusiveness in her life is shown by this poem with her pointing out the wrongs of a society that everyone is supposed to be a part of. There is also a strong selection of diction used to create the imagery and the tone of the work. This is one characteristic that can be seen in almost all of the works of Emily Dickinson. Although there are many interpretations and many disagreements to the meaning of this poem, it still remains on of Dickinson’s most popular of all time.

The first line of the poem reads “I’m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody too? (Dickinson)” This is the first testimony that the author is separating themselves from regular society. Rather than claiming to have an identity and individuality, the author says that they are nobody. Then they go on to question whether the reader is also nobody. This leads the reader to believe that there is no true identity for people and the society is simple a created thing. This logic serves as an explanation for the strangeness of Emily Dickinson and her life. There is a strong possibility that this is how she actually felt about the world and in turn this caused her to seclude herself from everyone else because she felt that she was nobody (Leiter). She then says that if there is a pair of people who have made the conclusion that the society is not right, that they must not let it be known because they would be outcast (Dickinson). This is almost a call to the reader to question their society.

Along with the idea of banishment from society, another interpretation is that this is a poem about coming of age and the confusion of adolescents (Leiter). This is reasonable because oftentimes youth feel disconnected from society and struggle to find their place. If they fail to find an acceptable path in life they are banished from society for being different. It all comes down to the way that the reader views the words in the poem.

Diction is a very important part of the woks of Emily Dickinson. This poem is no different with a strong word selection to create the tone that she wanted the reader to experience when she wrote this poem. The simple word selection in the first stanza makes the reader feel as if she is talking directly to them, calling them out to inform them of her realization (Dickinson).

This is one of Dickinson’s most popular poems of all time and for good reason. There are many interpretations, but any way that the reader views the poem it still presents a very strong idea for each interpretation. It is clear that Dickinson’s life had a strong impact on the context of this work, but it caused the poems message to be all the stronger.



Works Cited

Dickinson, Emily. "I'm nobody! Who are you?" Part One: Life. Bartleby.com. Web. 21 Mar. 2011.

Leiter, Sharon. "'I'm Nobody! Who are you?'." Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCED064&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 22, 2011).

Journal 41 "When I hoped I feared" Analysis

This short work by Emily Dickinson addresses the idea of religion and a fear of God. The main theme of this poem is that without a fear of God, one can not truly have faith and belief in God. It is all about telling people the importance of being God fearing in their lives. The opening lines explain that the writer hoped to God and then had fear of Him, but this caused them to dare. This is a daring to test their faith. There is clear reference to the bible in the serpent trying to charm the writer. This could be referring to either the Garden of Eden or to Jesus being tempted in the desert, or more generally be a symbol for the Devil as a whole. The world choice is very interesting in this poem with many descriptive words. The word charm to describe the what the serpent is doing has a very strong impact on the meaning of the poem. Most often, charm is indicated to be a good thing, but when paired with a serpent it seems almost evil and diabolical. This creates an image of the snake and this is very strong as snakes are very scary for most people. Doom is also strong for the diction of this work. Doom is almost the ultimate way to describe something that is extremely evil in nature and bad all around. The final lie of "Who hath suffered him" goes back to the idea of Jesus in the desert and all of the tests that were given. These tests are what show the strength of our faith, and this is what Dickinson was most likely trying to point out with this poem. There is varied diction to give a powerful tone and imagery to this work, which Dickinson did in all of her works. She also presented an idea about the importance of religion and a fear of God to have a true belief in God.

Journal 40 Self

I think that Walt Whitman had the idea of Self pretty right. He split it into three portions of the individuality that separates people in the world from each other, the spirituality of a person, and who people want to be. This is really a great way to look at the idea of Self as these are basically a trifecta. I think meditation ties in with the spiritual Self and the person we actually are. When one spends time to stop thinking about everything in life except for reflection of who they are and who they want to be, this is how we create the person that we want to be. Also, when one meditates, they are able to create a connection to some sort of higher idea to life. There are many religions in the world with many different forms of worship, but meditation is a universal way to create a connections with God or Krishna or any other god or higher being that one wants to follow. This is how we create the aspect of Self relating to the spirituality of a person. It would not surprise me if Walt Whitman meditated regularly and found its benefits, and wanted to share this idea with the rest of the world. For him, Christianity was his personal spirituality, but it could be any other form of religion to make this portion of Self. Although these two parts of Self are who we want to be, there is another portion of how we are actually perceived by the people that surround us. No matter how hard we try to be ourselves and do what we think is right, there is always another way to view a situation that could change how you seem to others. I really can't think of a better way to view the idea of Self. Whitman seemed to know what he was talking about when it comes to Self, and I think that he perfected this idea and tried to share it with others.

The poem “Bivouac on a Mountain Side” is a poem in the section of Drum Taps that shows many of the characteristics popular to the style of Walt Whitman. It is written in free verse, which is the style he most commonly used. This is one of the few poems about the Civil War by Whitman that does not directly portray soldiers on the field of battle, but rather just shows the soldiers camping on a mountainside (Oliver). There is an obvious subject of the everyman in this work, as the characters that it concerns are simple soldiers. There is also a slight hint about religion at the end of the poem with the very last line about the starts. This poem shows many of the characteristics that Walt Whitman used.

Whitman wrote many poems about the Civil War and the soldiers of both sides. Usually he did not show a side that he supported, and rather just spoke of how great the soldiers of the country were. This poem is very unique to Whitman’s style though, because he actually is talking about the soldiers resting rather than being in the battlefield (Whitman). The word bivouac refers to an encampment that is very temporary, even without tents and only sleeping under the starts (Huff). This is the exact image that is described in this work. Even though it is about war, the scene that Whitman creates seems to be quite peaceful.

Another characteristic of Whitman’s poetry that is shown in this poem is the subject of the Everyman. This poem is about soldiers that are camping on a mountainside for a night, and this could very well be their last night on Earth. This is what Walt Whitman wanted to address in his poem, because serving in a war is a very scary portion of one’s life and he wanted to show that. This poem is about the isolation that a platoon of the army experiences in their moments at war and how powerful the simple things like a night under the starts can be for them (Oliver).

There is a small hint of Christianity in this poem at the very end. Whitman refers to the “eternal stars” over the night skies that are looking over the soldiers (Whitman). This could be interpreted as God looking over those that are serving. It could just be talking about the starts, but the word eternal that is used makes that part of the poem more powerful and seem like it would have a deeper meaning. Whitman involved religion in all of his poems, and representing God by the stars in the night sky is how he does it for this poem.

The poem “Bivouac on a Mountain Side” by the great American poet Walt Whitman has many of the characteristics that were very popular for this particular author. The free verse poem describes soldiers of the Civil War and the Everyman that is the soldier. Also there is a hidden message of Christianity in the last lines of the work like Whitman usually included.



Works Cited
Huff, Randall. "'A Bivouac on a Mountain Side'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0053&SingleRecord=True. March 7, 2011.

Oliver, Charles M. "'Bivouac on a Mountain Side'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW059&SingleRecord=True. March 7, 2011.

Whitman, Walt. “Bivouac on a Mountain Side.” From Leaves of Grass. The Walt Whitman Archive. Online. http://whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/. March 7, 2011.

Analysis of "As Adam Early in the Morning"

Walt Whitman’s poem “As Adam Early in the Morning” shows many of the characteristics that Whitman used in his poetry. He uses a simple free verse style to talk about Christianity, with Adam from the Garden of Eden as the focus, the concept of the Everyman, and sensuality being one of the important parts of life. Though very short in length being only one stanza, this poem is still able to capture the image that Whitman was trying to share with no lack in passion and emotion. The most popular characteristics of literature by the great American poet can be seen in this work “As Adam Early in the Morning.”

This poem is written in free verse as many of Whitman’s other poems were written. Rather than using a complicated rhyme scheme to create the artistic sense of the poem, Whitman seems to read the poem as if in a conversation. The passion is still strong in this work though with the topic of human sensuality, sexuality, and love.

Sexuality is a common theme that appears in this section of Leaves of Grass. Whitman addresses the sensuality of man as being one of the most important driving forces for good in the world (Oliver). The final line of the poem that reads “Touch me, touch the palm of your hand to my body as I pass, be not afraid of my body” displays this passion for human sensuality that Whitman used in this section (Whitman).

Along with human sensuality, Christianity is a common theme that appears all of the works by Whitman. The literal interpretation of this poem leads the reader to think directly of Adam in the Garden and the title character is named Adam (Whitman). There is another way to see this poem though, because in one of the lines, the character says “behold me (Whitman).” Although this is something that an average human like Adam could say, it is more like something that God would say rather than an innocent person (Huff). This interpretation would drastically change the meaning of the last line of the poem, because rather than be physically touching a person, it would be more significant of meaning taking in God. “Be not afraid of my body” could very well mean to not fear God, but to take him in and be comfortable with him.

The concept of Everyman that Whitman used many times in his works can be seen, if Adam is considered a generic person. Instead of being Adam in the Garden of Eden, he could represent all of the people of the Earth that are supposed to be taking God into their lives. What better representation of a generic person could there be than the person that all men and women in the world come from in the beliefs of Christianity.

Whitman’s work of “As Adam Early in the Morning” shows many of the characteristics that are common in Leaves of Grass. The free verse poem addresses the sexuality and sensuality of man and the Everyman, as represented by Adam. In the literal interpretation, there are the obvious references to Christianity with Adam in the Garden of Eden. All of these characteristics are representative of the great poet that is Walt Whitman.


Works Cited

Huff, Randall. "'As Adam Early in the Morning'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0028&SingleRecord=True. March 3, 2011.

Oliver, Charles M. "'As Adam Early in the Morning'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW026&SingleRecord=True. March 3, 2011.

Whitman, Walt. "As Adam Early in the Morning" for Leaves of Grass. The Walt Whitman Archive. Online. http://whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/. March 3, 2011.

Journal 39 "Bardic Symbols"

"Bardic Symbols" is one of the most mysterious poems by Walt Whitman as no one can truly state the meaning of the Bardic Symbols. It is no one persons job to determine what they stand for and this has created confusion all about the work by Whitman. While there was a lot of confusion revolving around the meaning of the poem, there are still many characteristics that Whitman was popular for. He uses his free verse style and has some stanzas that could be related to Christianity. One line of the poem reads "Kiss me, my father! Touch me with your lips, as I touch those I love! Breathe to me, while I hold you close, the secret of the wondrous murmuring I envy! For I fear I shall become crazed, if I cannot emulate it..." Upon first reading this seems to be directed at the father of the author and his affection, but there is a deeper meaning for God in Christianity. The father obviously represents God, and the author says that he needs the breath of the Father, which symbolizes the need for religion in his life. This is one symbol that a reader can pick out with ease, because Whitman used it so often. Although no one can really pick out and say for sure what the Bardic Symbols actually represent in this poem, the religious symbols are one thing that all readers can agree on. There are many parts of this poem that people are unsure about. Most readers are compelled to try and determine what the symbols of this poem represent, but to no avail as Whitman never gave us the true meaning of the work. This confusion mostly comes from Whitman's personal confusion for the the Bardic Symbols that he has. He understands that there is no way for him to understand what all the little things in life mean to him and what significance they have. This is why the reader of this poem cannot determine for themselves what the symbols show because even the author says that there is no way to tell what it all means.

Analysis of "A Twilight Song"

Walt Whitman is one of the most important American poets of all time. His free verse style has captured many of ideas about the Everyman, America, and Christianity. Although Christianity does not have a major part in “A Twilight Song,” the Everyman and America both are major parts of the theme, as it is a war hymn about the Civil War soldiers. When Whitman wrote this poem, the Civil War had ended about 25 years previously, but the main idea of this work is that it is never too late to pay tribute and remember those who fought in a war for our country.

This poem is about the soldiers of the Civil War that sacrificed their lives for what they believed in. The soldiers of this time were not the most extraordinary men, but rather just average people from different parts of the country. With the country having just formed, the military was not very strong, and the people that made up the troops had normal jobs and lives. Whitman says that there are soldiers serving “From wooded Maine, New-England's farms, from fertile Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, from the measureless West, Virginia, the South, the Carolinas, Texas (Whitman).” This shows that there were people from every corner of the country serving. North, South, East, and West all had men on the front line and women aiding in many important parts of the battle. Many of these people ended up paying the ultimate price and sacrificed their lives to fight for something that they believed in. Even though this poem was written 25 years after the war had ended, there is still a need to pay tribute to those that served (Oliver). Walt Whitman did not have a need to show a bias for either side, because he was not concerned with how the war turned out. His main concern was for the country of America as a whole and the potential that it has to be great.

In many of his works, Whitman spoke of the great potential that the country of America had. This seems to be an underlying theme in “A Twilight Song.” This poem has no bias to the North or the South, but is about memorial to all of the soldiers alike that lost their lives during the course of the war. Whitman was glad to see that so many people were willing to pay the ultimate price of losing their lives for what they believed in. This directly relates to the strength of the country as a whole, which was Whitman’s reason for writing about this subject in the way that he did (Oliver).

Whitman’s “A Twilight Song” shows many of the characteristics that he quite often used in most all of his works. He uses the style of free verse that he was very popular for, and the content revolves around the country of America and the Everyman. This tribute to all of the soldiers that gave their lives for their country does everyone that served justice, even though it was written many years after the war ended. These characteristics seen in this poem show why Walt Whitman is one of the best American poets of all time.

Works Cited

Oliver, Charles M. "'A Twilight Song'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW539&SingleRecord=True. March 1, 2011.

Whitman, Walt. "A Twilight Song." from Leaves of Grass. The Walt Whitman Archive. Online. http://whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/. March 1, 2011.

Journal 38 "As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing

Whitman quite often included ideas about the everyman and Christianity in many of his poems. This poem is no different as it has content concerning both of these topics. Literally, this poem speaks about a plowman, which is quite the simple life. A farmer harvesting crops is one of the oldest and most simple professions that would make the leading character an everyman. He is only doing his job, which is making him an average person. Overall he is an average person trying to get through his life. The more significant portion of this poem is concerning the symbolism for Christianity. Whitman believed that all people are part of the same large group making up God. All the individual parts in turn making up this group of people are God themselves. If the plowman represents God, there is a much deeper meaning to this poem. The harvest mentioned in this poem is representative of the cycle of life for all people, because both are circular trends. The crops are harvested and then replaced by new ones, just as humans are taken by Death and then replaced by the new people of the world. This concept makes the plowman much more than an average person, but rather Death as a person. He is the one that takes the lives of all the other people of the world and is what causes the other people to fill their spots. This is the simple process that a farmer goes through in a field for a harvest, but it is also the same way that the circle of life works. The beauty of this poem is that Whitman is able to present all of these thoughts into a simple four line stanza. The style is very simple in that it does only consist of four lines and free verse style, which is what Whitman was best at. He did not need an artistic style to convey his ideas because the style flows directly from the message of the poem. This poem shows the two major parts of Whitman's writing of the everyman and Christianity.

Whitman: A Poet of Self

Walt Whitman is considered one of the most prominent and best authors of the western hemisphere. While Emerson divided Self into an active portion and a passive part of the soul, Walt Whitman presented the divisions of: my soul, myself, and the real me (Bloom). This can be seen in almost all of Whitman’s works including his poems “When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d,” “Myself and Mine,” and “One Song, America, Before I Go.” There is a presentation of song in many of these works to relate to the common characteristic of Self that Whitman is most known for. With the way that Whitman is able to present ideas about Self in his works, it is no surprise that he is considered one of the greatest authors of the western hemisphere.

In “One Song, America, Before I Go,” Whitman mentions a song that he will sing for the country and its future. In the poem he says that he is singing not only because of how he feels the country is now but also to the preparation for how great the county will become (Whitman “One”). These are spoken as words of a true patriot. How one feels about their county and government is a huge part one’s personality. The concerns for your country are directly related to how you feel about yourself, that is, if your feelings are of pride in your nation. Whitman said that all people are actually the same person, therefore everyone is a whole (Bloom). This becomes important when talking about the connection to government and people’s feelings for it. If everyone is feeling the same about the government, it creates a strong nation and overall a better world. This feeling of patriotism caused a need for song from the writer, which is one of the main characteristics of the work of Walt Whitman.

“When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d” is one of Walt Whitman’s most important works. It is truly about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, who Whitman thought very highly of and it uses song to relate to the idea of Self. While it is understood that he feels that his death is a tragedy, he states that many animals in woods and even he would sing on behalf of Lincoln’s death (Whitman “When”). One line in particular from this work shows the importance of song to Whitman, “I know if thou wast not gifted to sing, thou would’st surely die…” Associating death with not singing seems a bit strong, but for Whitman this was how he felt. There is a strong relationship between song and the emotions felt by people to create their individual image of self. For this specific poem, the significance of song is related to the feeling of grieving over the death of an important person. Whitman has a lot of connections to government in his works and this is no different. In “One Song, America, Before I Go” it is about patriotism and the future of the county and in this work it is about one of the country’s greatest leaders.

“Myself and Mine” is also a work that displays the characteristics of literature by Whitman because of it concern for the feeling of Self of an individual. In this work the writer says “Let me have my own way” and this statement embodies many of the thoughts that Whitman used in his literature (Whitman “Myself”). A sense of individuality is an important part of being able to have a sense of Self, because the two characteristics are tied together directly. The focus of this poem is how the author feels about the people around him asking about what causes him to feel the way that he does (Whitman “Myself”). But again, this topic relates to the idea that Whitman presented of everyone being the same person. Upon reading the poem originally, it seems that he is quite egotistical, but when one knows the background to Whitman’s style, it is easier to understand that all of the world is actually “him” in the poem. This subject matter is what Whitman most often was concerned with to tell about his personal feelings and the idea of Self that he wanted.

Most all of Walt Whitman’s works share some major characteristics. The subject of most of his poems is the idea of Self and the aspect of how people view themselves. At the time this analysis of a deep personal level of thought was very controversial, but served to create a great contribution to American literature. These works use song as a device to relate the importance of Self as the theme of each poem, which was a style Whitman used quite often. This is what makes Walt Whitman one of the greatest western writers and one of the best at portraying the idea of Self in humans.


Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. "Bloom on Walt Whitman." In Bloom, Harold, ed. Walt Whitman, Classic Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=CCVWW001&SingleRecord=True February 23, 2011.

Walt, Whitman. "Leaves of Grass." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. http://www.bartleby.com/142/

Journal 37 Reaction to “Whitman’s Language of the Self"

I thought that the article “Whitman's Language of the Self” was quite interesting and truly captured many of the ideas that Whitman tried to convey in his years of writing. Bauerlein notes that Whitman is in fact often regarded as quite egotistical and self-centered, but understands that this was a part of capturing his image of Self. The quote from Richard Poirier seemed to be directly related to Whitman's writing, that style is like a leaf of the tree of self, even though it was never aimed at any one author. This seems to be the exact means in which Whitman portrayed his message, because his style of using free verse and structure less narrative seems to come from his conveying of the idea of Self that was included in all of his works. Bauerlein touches on Whitman's past that drastically affected his writing. Coming from an abusive father, an ignorant mother, and his homosexuality were all factors that made him the writer he was, as well as caused him to have a focus on personal Self in all of his literature. Some of his works directly address his feelings towards his parents, which made them all the more powerful. One quote in the essay mentions that Whitman did not really care much for the words he used, the rhyming, or the structure as long as the message he wanted to tell was told. This ended up creating a unique style that set him apart from other poets, but his subject matter was enough to make him great. Even without following any particular style, Whitman still was able to convey his idea of Self and Personality. Although this did seem a bit self-centered and egoistical, he portrayed an idea that became a very important part of literature and philosophy. Bauerlein encompassed all of the characteristics of Whitman's writing that made him one of the best, if not the most important American poets of his time and for all time.

Journal 36 My Favorite Meal

There are many different meals that one could consider their favorite, but my personal favorite would be corn meal. There are so many characteristics that make it great. It encompasses all of the senses that the human mind can comprehend and is all around amazing in every way. Corn meal can vary in color from blue to white, but yellow is the best. The yellow of fresh cornmeal reminds me of the sunrises in the morning at the beaches of North Carolina that I have spent many of my summers. It reminds me of a simple time where I am quite at peace. And it's even better for you, because yellow corn meal actually has more Vitamin A than the other colors because of the type of corn that each come from. Along with the appearance of corn meal, the smell of corn that it always carries with it reminds me of home no matter where I am at. If I am all the way across the world, the smell of corn meal is able to remind me of home and bring back all the good memories of living in the country. Both of those details are nice, but absolutely nothing tops the taste of corn meal. It's extremely bland which just the way I like my meal. Also the mushy texture of it when made into mush is absolutely heavenly. The taste and texture send my taste buds on a trip to paradise to experience my own little part of heaven every time. I don’t really think that corn meal makes a sound, but I can only imagine that if it did, it would be the most beautiful sound in the world seeing that corn meal is my favorite meal. All of these different characteristics that corn meal has are what make it my most favorite meal in the entire world. Everything about it is amazing and can make me feel good no matter what.

Journal 35 I'm a Journalist

I think that it would be very interesting to be a reporter for a war, but also very dangerous obviously. It would be a great experience because being directly in the action is one of the best ways to obtain information about a story. One could truly begin to understand how soldiers feel and what they experience rather than just hearing someone talk about their experience. To me, I think that going to war is the type of experience that cannot necessarily be described completely in words. It is something that someone has to feel personally, which is most likely why journalist do go into the front lines of battle to get stories. It is a way to write articles that are completely genuine with true emotion caused by personal experiences. I also think that this would be a very dangerous experience. I think that fear is one of the strongest emotions felt, and going into battle would be the best way to truly feel the complete emotion of fear. Personally I could not imagine myself actually going over to a war zone as a journalist because I just wouldn’t be comfortable with my survival skills. There is some training given to reporters that go over to war zones, but obviously not as much training as the actual soldiers receive. I would feel a lot more comfortable as a soldier with more training and a firearm to use than simply relying on the protection of the soldiers that I am following. I know that they would do their best to protect me, but I would feel a lot better doing the protecting myself, just because I would much rather do things myself than rely on others to do it for me. In all honestly, I just cannot imagine myself actually going over to a war zone to do reporting, or doing any type of reporting for that matter. I have an immense amount of respect for those that do, because they are willing to put their lives on the line for their jobs.

Regionalism in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"

Mark Twain is one of the best writers of American Regionalism with all of his works from his novels to his short stories like “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” This story is about an man from the East that is duped into believing a story about a Southern man named John Smiley. This story uses many characteristics of Regionalism like a writing style very similar to the vernacular of the setting. Both characters, the Easterner and Simon Wheeler, are very average people, although they are different in many ways. Having simple, middle-class people as the characters in a literary work is a characteristic of the genre of Regionalism.

Language is a very important part of works of Regionalism because the language used is able to connect the setting and characters to the overall theme of the story (Anderson). This particular story indeed has a language that is related to the setting. The story takes place in the South, and one of the main characters is a Southerner who speaks with the vernacular of the area. This man, Simon Wheeler, uses words like “feller” and “thish-yer” that are clearly words that would be used in the South (Twain 499). Although these simple differences in language may seem unimportant, they actually are used to help create a believable setting that can in turn convey the theme of the story.

Along with writing style and language, having characters that are middle-class, average people are an important part of the genre of Regionalism (Anderson). The story does that with both the characters of the Easterner and Simon Wheeler. Simon Wheeler is simply a man from the South that has many stories to tell. Oral stories are a very popular tradition in the South and this may be why he told the Easterner this story. He was not necessarily trying to be cruel to the man, and he could in fact have heard of a man named Simon Wheeler and just told the story as he had once heard it. The Easterner on the other hand also has the persona of a very normal person. Even though he ends up being duped by Simon Wheeler, this is nothing unexpected because he is simply a gullible person that is not from the same parts as Simon Wheeler (Twain 501). These characters lack any super characteristics that would make them extraordinary heroes in any means, but this is exactly the goal of writers of Realism and Regionalism.

Mark Twain is one of the greatest American authors of all and also one of the best writers of Regionalism and Realism. Many of his stories affectively use the different literary devices associated with Regionalism to create some of the best works of all time. He uses setting to relate the story to its theme. The characters are quite often average, middle-class protagonists, which is one of the fundamental characteristics of Regionalism. His writing style of use of the vernacular of the setting also makes the story more believable and connects the setting to the characters. All of these traits that are found in “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” make it a great example of Regionalism and Mark Twain’s great literature.


Works Cited


Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds."regionalism." Encyclopedia of American Literature: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, vol. 3, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1330&SingleRecord=True. February 16, 2011.

Twain, Mark. "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 498-502.